A child being bilingual

[lightand]

Hello

One of my grandchildren will grow up being biligual. He is currently 7 months old.

I dont know what to expect. Can people give me some pointers please? fwiw, the language other then English, will not be a European one.

There’s something about your tone which is a bit odd op, as though you’re unhappy about this child being disadvantaged by exposure to the language of a country/culture you don’t like very much.

My child is bilingual. She was perhaps a little bit late with words. At four she’s reading both languages (two different alphabet systems) and can express herself very well in each. It is very hard work but so worth it. Any second language learnt to that depth is great imo, no matter which language. It does wonders for them.

I’m writing this in my second language btw

I dont know what to expect

Expect that he will speak 2 languages fluently, with the correct accents, from an early age!

My children are all bilingual from birth, everyone told us to expect them to talk later than usual but tbh it wasn't really noticeable. They didn't mix the languages, small children seem to be good at 'feeling' which words belong to which language. They switch language very easily and automatically depending on who they're talking to.

@lightand

For instance, I dont think he is currently very "chatty".

Over christmas, he had people from both nationalities in the same room[which wont happen that often]. If I was a young child, I would be confused by two languages at the same time, as well!

At 7 months old?!

What a weird thread.

Mine are bilingual. I can only speak English, my Ex is fluent in English and Italian (so is ExMIL, she moved here when she was 10).

No language delays, no confusion, just children that are fluent in two languages.

I’m not sure what your issue is, other than that you don’t seem to like the other country, culture or language at all.

tessais.org/how-bilingualism-supports-math-skills-in-children/
You might find the link above reassuring OP. I taught a child, many years ago, who was fluent in five languages - English, which he only spoke outside the home, and each of the four languages of his grandparents. All this at the age of eight. Very capable in maths lessons and excellent at science. Bilingualism is a wonderful gift. Lucky child.

@Onatree

The OP sounds weirdly insular. Have you never lived in a bilingual country OP, or been in an environment other than English England? Are you aware all former English colonies and French colonies very successfully speak English alongside much else? Perhaps you haven’t got any Moroccan or Indian mates?

I agree. You sound disapproving, OP, with the comments about a seven month old not being ‘chatty’ and ‘confusion’,and there not ‘being many baby books in the other country’ — aren’t you ever around people who regularly use more than one language at home? It’s pretty normal.

I'm bilingual
My kids are bilingual-trilingual in fact having studied a further language to a level standard
It's an amazing skill and a positive
But you sound utterly negative about it

It's ok
I'm sure the poor little poppet will speak the queens English for you

We're raising our DD (16 months) in English and Hebrew. I speak to her in English, DH speaks to her in Hebrew. We have books in both languages (Hebrew ones ordered online from Israel and sent by relatives).

Already dd can differentiate. For example, she says "teddy" to me, and the Hebrew version "dubi" to DH. She recognises the different alphabets too, and picks Hebrew books to read with DH.

It takes bilingual children longer to talk initially, but the benefits are huge.

There are thousands of children in Wales who are bilingual when their parents are not. It only has advantages, OP. 🤷🏻‍♀️

How lucky for him to be brought up with 2 languages without the torture of having to learn as an adult!

Lots of my friends and my DP are bilingual or even trilingual and I very often feel like the poor (or stupid ) relation.

I know a couple of kids who are growing up bilingual; certainly by 3 or 4 when I met them - so perhaps earlier - they could all swap happily between each language with the minimum of confusion.

My children are bilingual. They were not late to speak. It will be fine and is not at all a big deal, don't worry about it. As a grandparent, your role is just to support the child's English as you would normally do for any monolingual grandchild.

He will not be confused at all. It will not be bad for his language development. He might mix his languages a bit when he speaks to you when he is very young but he will soon grow out of this - bilingual children naturally learn who can speak which of their languages and will tailor the way they speak to them to suit. So my two children mix their languages when they speak to each other, but will speak pure English to my monolingual parents because they know they won't understand any of their other language.

my son is bilingual. He did speak later than others, but by age 5, it was imposible to tell that we spoke another language at home other than English. He's 18 now and English is his main language, although he's still very fluent in the other language.

And by the way, language mixing is not a sign of confusion or that the speaker doesn't know which word belongs to which language. It is actually very clever, not to mention a lot of fun, and ime almost all bilingual people will choose to do it sometimes when they are among others who understand both their languages. Children and adults alike.

As someone upthread said, there are no disadvantages to this. My children are bilingual. It can slow them down a little at the start, and learning to read in two languages can be difficult at first but they catch up quickly, then generally excel at reading.
It will also be easier for them to pick up a third or even fourth language later on. Mine starting learning language number 3 at around 7/8.
The most important thing is being able to listen to it frequently, and use it as much as possible. So if the English speaking parent is primarily carer and spends more time with the child, consider audio books in the other language for the car etc. Or if those cannot be found, the parent could read and record stories to play when they are not there.

Most bilingual kids I know are exposed to mum’s language if she’s the one to stay at home, but they sometimes lose the language once they start nursery. Kids I know understand and can respond but can’t read/write the second language unless they practise.

There's a very good book called Bilingual by Choice that you should read OP, it answers lots of questions.

My DC are bilingual in English and in DH's language. They heard and spoke both from the word go. One set of GPs barely spoke any English, so it was very useful. They learned more languages growing up and one has 3 languages and the other has 4. Growing up bilingual is a big advantage.

From my experience being bilingual doesn’t cause confusion. Toddlers/young children will use a mix of languages but that doesn’t mean they are confused about which is which. For example, if a child is speaking one language and wants to ask for an ice cream, but doesn’t know the word for icecream in that language they will use the word from the other language rather than not ask. So they might say “please may I have” in English then say “icecream” in French.

Be positive about the other language. The thing that stopped me with our children was the negative reception speaking in another language got. Support the parent with the minority language and encourage them to speak in that language to their child and then repeat to you. Or others. As child grows older show interest in the minority language and be open about how amazing the child is to hold both languages.

Many parents fail on bilingualism sue to lack of support and it is often those who can't do it themselves who lacks the support.

Due to*

It can only be an advantage. I grew up trilingual, as did all my siblings, and I was the only one to speak ‘late’. That might have happened had we been monolingual too.

I speak 7 languages now, 5 of them to native or high proficiency level. I pick up new languages or alphabets really quickly, and both as a child and an adult I find it really easy to switch from one language to another. The brain is an amazing thing.

Over half the world's population is bilingual. You're the odd one out, not him 😊

@Simonjt more than several languages would be a polyglot

It's a wonderful opportunity and will make it easier for the child to learn other languages.

It has other great benefits as below

'Research shows that learning a second language boosts problem-solving, critical-thinking, and listening skills, in addition to improving memory, concentration, and the ability to multitask. Children proficient in other languages also show signs of enhanced creativity and mental flexibility.'